Opibus has just completed a fundraising in equity and grants amounting to 7.5 million dollars. The biggest financing ever for an electric mobility company in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the African electric mobility company.
Announced on Tuesday, November 2, the funding was led by At One Ventures of Silicon Valley and backed by funding from former Google and Uber executives at other venture capital firms. It is made up of $ 5 million in equity and $ 2.5 million in additional grants.
This fundraising, which follows a previous operation of $ 4 million, will be used to finance the development of the brand’s operations in the manufacture of motorcycles and electric buses in Africa from 2022.
According to the company’s chief marketing and strategy officer, Albin Wilson, the continent currently lacks a product on the market that meets the needs of regions with inadequate infrastructure and low adoption rates for the industry. automobile.
“This represents an unprecedented opportunity to extend the technology to Kenya and across Africa, as electric vehicles can make even more sense here than anywhere else in the world, with unlimited sunshine and already 86% of production. ‘renewable energy. This means that potentially, the energy grid could become decentralized as it is deployed with localized renewable energy production, ”he argued.
Founded in 2017, Opibus is a Swedish-Kenyan technology company that develops, designs and manufactures electric vehicles to help the African continent’s transition to more sustainable transport.
According to Opibus, Africa is one of the fastest growing transport markets in the world, with a total market potential of $ 10 billion by 2030, which remains largely untapped.
In addition to Kenya, the company’s markets include Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Africa.
